Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-10-13
DAILY HERALD.
CRIMINALITIES.
Identity Of the Murdered
Man Discovered.
A PROMINENT DENTIST.
Return of the Forger Morris
Several Interesting Bits Of
News-NOtes.

in burned barn at Compton has been
identified as that of DIR. Charles N
Harlan, a dentist, formerly with r
G. Cunningham, but lately having al
Office alone at room 10, Roeder Block
Spring street.. That there is a deeT
mystery connected with this case is
certain. DR.. Harlan was seen in
this city as late as :30P p. NJ. on last
Thursday night. At half past eleven
on the same night an empty barr
near Compton, belonging to a widow
named Barley was found to be on
fire. On Friday morning when the
ruins were searched the charred re
mains of dead man were discovered
in it. The Justice of the Peace a
Compton held an inquest upon the re
mains, which could not be identified
and the body was inferred at Comp
ton on Sunday. There was good
deal OF talk indulged in about foul
play, but nothing substantial could be
learned. Upon the body there was a
pin and pair of sleeve buttons and
part of the cloth of the deceased's s
suit was in such condition that 1t
could be used for the purpose OF lden-
tification. The matter was placed IN
the hands of Chief Darcy, who had
the body exhumed from its grave on
Tuesday.
DR.. HARLAN MISSING.
As DR.. Harlan had been missing sew
eral days it struck Capt. Darcy that he
might be the person whose dead body
had been recovered from the burned
barn. The sample of cloth was taken
to Mcconnell & Co., tailors, OF North
Spring street, who identified it as part
Of the cloth Of a suit which they had
made for DR.. Harlan. The pin and
sleeve buttons were also recognized as
the missing dentists property. 1t was
known that Harlan had had his teeth
filed over a month ago by another
dentist. This gentleman was called
upon and described particularly what
work he had done. Then he was
taken to Compton and shown the dead
body. The examination OF the teeth
OF the deceased convinced the dentist
that the remains were none other than
those of DR.. Harlan. Where the mys-
terry comes in is how he got to Comp
ton in time to be burned up at half
past eleven when he was seen here on
foot at half past seven. And yet 50
far no clue has been obtained that the
doctor hired a buggy in any livery
stable of this town and there was GER
tainly no train going out at that time
towards Compton. Itappears impossi-
BILE that he could have walked out
there. Furthermore he had no busi-
ness in that burg and none
in the empty barn which be-
longed to a person with whom
he had no acquaintance.
THE EYHuMAMIoN.
At the time of the examination
OF DR.. Harlan's jaws, after the
exhumation, the head OF the
dead man dropped off. 1t is
stated on the authority of the Chief of
Police that the body was in such a
condition that it was not possible to dis
cover whether there were any marks
of violence upon it or not. The body
was buried again after the examina-
ton. At the time that the body was
found in the barn, last Friday, the
clothes upon it were saturated with
coal OIL This is suspicious circum-
stance, as is also the manner and the
reason of Harlan's going to Compton.
When Mr.. Darcy was asked whether
he had any theory to account for the
whether the result OF sui
eide or OF murder-the Chief said he
had none, but he was not inclined to
favor the one referring to suicide.
DIR. Harlan was a married man re-
siding at No. 27 Rosas street. The in
vestigation is by no means at an end,
and may result in startling discoveries
yet.
FURTHER PARTICULARS.
A Well-known man about town re
lated to HERALD reporter last even
ing certain facts which are here given
and may possibly shed light upon
the cause which led to Hanlan's de-
mise. He said: Hanlan, beside be-
ing a dentist was also gamb-
ler. He was associated with a noted
Denver confidence man, formerly a
partner OF the notorious Doc" Bagg,
Il Colorado sure-thing gambler. These
two had poker room above well
known dry goods store on North
Spring street. On the Saturday pre-
ceding the burning of the barn at
Compton Harlan won from we'll
horer. whose name / have been unable
to learn, the sum of $400 and gold
watch and chain. Harlan showed me
the valuablcs himself, though / can
not recollect positively whether there
was s400 or not, but the gold watch
and chain saw plainly and was told
by Harlan that he "beat' the we'll
borer out OF them. Now, in my
mind, it is plausible that the we'll
borer, burning under the sense of his
loss, made up his mind to be reveng-
ed. Harlan was man who never
drank to excess, cold-blooded and of
sufficient determination to never give
up anything he had won from any
body else, yet never carrying any
weapon. He was too astute to leave
town with man whose money he
had won ii that man suspected that
he had been unfairly beaten, but he
would not have been afraid to play
with him again where he thought he
was safe, provided the sucker
could show the "stuff."
INDUCED TO PLAY.
Now my theory is that Harlan
was induced to play again-at some
place known to himself and his ad.
versary-at poker, and that he was
killed during q dispute over the
cards. That then, realizing the dan.
ger lie was exposed to, the murderer
managed to convey the body by team
TO Compton, the road to which was
we'll known to him, and there, having
thrown the body into the barn, he
burned that building to destroy the
corpus delecti, so as to annlhllate all
evidence of the crime.
An evenipp cOntempOrary reverted